THE. NE.W YORKER the pIcture loses many millions, he won't be blamed for it-he was play- ing the game by the same rules as everybody else. If, however, he takes a gamble on a small project that can't be sold in advance-somethIng that a gifted director real1y wants to do, with. a subtle, not easily summarized theme and no big names in the cast-and it loses just a little money, his neck is on the block. So to the executives a good script is a script that attracts a star, and they will make their deals and set the fun machinery of a big production in motion and schedule the picture's release dates, even though the script problems have never been worked out and everyone (even the director) secretly knows that the film will be a confused mess, an embarrassment. Another new factor makes a risky project still riskier: if a movie doesn't have an easily paraphrasahle theme or big stars, it's hard to sell via a thirty- second TV commercial. (The net- works pay a lot for movies, but they get much of it back directly from the movie industry, which increasingly re- lies on TV commercia1s to sell a film.) It's even hard for the studio ad vertis- ing departments to figure out a cam- paign for newspapers and magazines And so, faced with something unu"ua] or original, the studio head generally says, "I don't know how to market it, and if I don't know how to market it, it wil1 lose money" The new breed of studio head is not likely to say, "It's something 1 feel we should take a chance on. I.,et's see if there's somebody who might be able to figure out how to market it." Just about the only picture the studios made last year that the ex- ecutives took a financial risk on was "Breaking Away." And despite the fact that it cost what is no\v a pittance ($2,400,000) and received an Acad- emy A ward Best Picture nomination, Twentieth Century-Fox didn't give it a big theatrical re-release (the standard procedure for a nominated film) but sold it to NBC, for immediate show- ing, for $5,000,000. So a couple of weeks after the Awards ceremony, just when many people had finally heard of "Breaking Away" and might have gone to a theatre to see it, it appeared, trashed in the usual manner, on television. The studio couldn't be sure how much more money might come in from box of- fices, and grabbed a sure thing. In or- der to accept the NBC offer, the studio even bypassed pay TV, where the pic- ture could have been seen uncut. It was I O f " B k o A " a most as 1 rea Ing way were being punished for not having stars and not having got a big advance TV sale. And the price was almost insulting: 87 , 1- .." '.' 'oJ' ," ..' uxury Knitwear in Cashmere, ., mbswool, Shetland, Merino and Ultra- soft'Lamaine , " <::' :: :... ;. :::: . " , r I .: :: :.. , Y d <' ' ':' 1>>..", '" / ", '< :::. Y(' " \-, -.:: ... '.:. / , .,1':, :' ,Y ,', 'i:, ., ',' 1 J q " H' @ R>r yQJr nearest retaJlerwnteto MG 575 Seventh Avenue,28th floor, New 'brk NY1OO18 (212)840-4460 IMPORTS INC :', " , '" ,::> ':, :'.' '1--.::' \ "" ":: '" 1Þ ..", "': "' I ' f ".:' > : ' .. ^ " ,,:, :'.' A:. .:. "._ .', .: ...ow<< 0 , ,::.: $:"', ,, >' ," " .... . .. . . ":. .v' .. . ......." , .. " f ::':', <:.. ",,:'J ;:' "',' k :.'" >1, ,':: 110ft", ,t . '" ./ < 'n 'W. ' :,:, J:f,:, , t t ",' ', . f .- .f ,,:' '... #,:, > ^ r t ',' - . ......-, r, ;:,: , /'......:..:.. '> .-:" ' " : r,, td' ,<:.:; / :'.' ':--:':. J r ,. f j' d. ':.. " --10 1 ../'^", /: .. '..,A J ", ,1 -'" ' : 1; ,"" , <" t. :fi.' $ ..... $ ,:t " '>' ..... -& ,".' ',: "(o .. p::... __ . ..' .... . . ",' :"'< ::: {!<> f.; <,' ' ' p' .' ' .f""', :o:'^ ' ,f,;>.<.;"" rr __ q,.- _ \.- ,' , - -;.._w '- .-'... G(Jie For people who understand the subtle differences. For reservatIons anywhere In the U.S. except California call toll free (800) 227 4736 In San FrancIsco call (415) 989-3500. Elsewhere In Califorma call toll free (800) 622-0957 Memher of Preferred Hotel" AssoCIation.